Semicolons

[Prefx]

This might sound plainly dumb, but I'm going to ask it anyway.

Does anyone else use semicolons as a sort of tool of manipulation? Instead of finishing a sentence with a period, I'll put a semicolon to force the reader to read faster. Instead of making a comma splice, I try to break a natural pause with a semicolon. FE: The eyes didn't align correctly; the left pupil looked slightly dull.

However, in the end, the problem lies with how the reader interprets the semicolon. When you read, do you pause for a semicolon like you would a period or not?

 

[GOLLUM]

When you read, do you pause for a semicolon like you would a period or not?

Yes I tend to do that I must admit.

 

[Green]

I would personally use a hyphen/dash in your above example. You should really use the punctuation that is appropriate for the sentence, imo (though sometimes it's unclear what that is).

You wouldn't purposely use a comma instead of a question mark, so why use a semicolon for something it's not meant for?

 

[cornelius]

use them too, sometimes it's the proper way to expres yourself. The computer sometimes indicates that Semicolons have to be used .

 

[Azathoth]

The semicolon is meant to pull two seperate ideas into one coherent sentence. That's its only purpose - it's not *meant* to make the reader pause, or read faster. I *do* pause when I read it, however, simply because it connects two ideas, and I need a split second to keep the first idea fresh in my mind while I read the second idea. If that makes sense?

 

[Culhwch]

Love the semi-colon, but, yes, only where appropriate. I mourn the lack of popularity of the semi-colash, the colash and the commash, too....

 

[Brian G Turner]

The eyes didn't align correctly; the left pupil looked slightly dull.

I'm no authority on semi-colons, but the use here looks incorrect, not least because the second second fragment relates to the first. An actual colon, or better still, a comma, may work better.

2c.